Soft Onion Breadsticks

These breadsticks turned out great!  I made them to go along with spaghetti.  The flavor was great and they were nice a fluffy inside.  These don't take a lot of effort, just make them early enough to allow for rising time.  Here's what you'll need:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

A friend of mine recently asked me if I had a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I realized I had never made it before and after a little searching I came across this recipe in my "Cooking Light" cookbook.  This soup was fantastic!  My family cleared their bowls and went back for seconds.  No leftovers in this house!  Here's how to make this fantastic soup:

Candy Corn Rice Krispy Treats

Rice Krispies are a household favorite around here.  And topping it with candy and chocolate?  Who can say no to that?  No one in my house apparently! We whipped up these tasty treats in a jiffy and the kids had so much fun decorating them.  Here's all you need:

Lemony Grilled Salmon

This lemony, honey flavored salmon was perfect.  The marinade was just enough to give the fish some great flavor while still letting the salmon speak for itself!  It was so tasty and very easy to put together.  I'm seriously in love with this recipe and can't wait to make it again!  I'll just cut this short and teach you how to make it:

Beef, Bean, And Cornbread Casserole

If I were to give this a new name it would be Chili Cornbread Casserole, cause that's what it tastes like.  The seasonings gave this dish the perfect amount of kick and it was a hit with the family.  Oh, and it's rather easy too!  Here's all you need for this dish:

Homemade Dog Biscuits

 Do you have a favorite 4-legged friend at home?  Does your pet usually miss out on the treats you bake in the kitchen because they are for people?  Well not today!  I wanted to take the time to bake something for the dog for a change and he GREATLY appreciated it!  

These cute homemade dog treats are easy to make, are edible for humans (if your into that kind of thing), and have your pups favorite ingredients... chicken broth and peanut butter!  HELLO! 

Want to see a picture of my 4-legged pup?  Well, he's 8 years old, so not much of a pup anymore... but here he is:

This is Xander and he likes his treats!  A lot!  I gave him one treat to make sure he liked it and after it was gone he returned to the spot on the floor where he ate it and kept licking the spot repeatedly.  I guess he couldn't get enough of it.  He has since had about 6 more... in one day!  

I guess it's time to teach you how to make these treats for your favorite pup.  Here ya go!

Chicken Alfredo Pot Pie

This is the kind of meal you make when you're tired and don't really feel like cooking, but you want to step it up a bit from macaroni and cheese.  Or perhaps you just don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner but you want something with meat and vegetables in it that actually tastes good! After last nights dinner was a total bust, I was thrilled that this one turned out and the kids loved it!  The hubby is hunting so we don't care about his opinion tonight.  I'm taking it easy with the kids, therefore I cooked with bottled sauce and pre-made breadsticks!  Go me!  Here's how to make this incredibly simple yet delightfully satisfying quickie dinner:

Weekly Menu

Here is my weekly menu, which started yesterday.  I am excited to try 6, yes I said 6 totally new recipes this week!  And 3 of these recipes are done in the crock pot!  I can't wait to see how they turn out.  Check back throughout the week to see how these recipes come together! 

Sunday- Lemon Garlic Tilapia (updated with pictures and cost to make)

Monday- Turkey Rotini Casserole

Tuesday- Chicken Alfredo Pot Pie

Wednesday- Lemony Grilled Salmon 

Thursday- Beef, Bean, and Cornbread Casserole 

Friday- Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Saturday- Crock Pot Marinara Sauce over Spaghetti with soft onion breadsticks

Plus Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

And Homemade Dog Biscuits

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

I have had my eye on this recipe for several weeks now and I finally got around to making it.  This was a total hit!  I found the recipe at Our Best Bites which is one of my favorite food blogs!  This recipe makes a large glass of the most perfect pumpkin pie milkshake ever!  Seriously! 

Halloween Cupcakes

So, have you gotten drug into the Pinterest website yet?  I sure have.  I'm obsessed with it!  I saw some cute ideas on Pinterest that inspired this cupcake idea!  I thought these were so cute.  Who wouldn't want one of these festive fall cupcakes?  Plus I'm going to share my easy box mix pumpkin spice cupcake recipe which makes these so much easier to make!

Candy Corn Cookie Bark

Looking for a tasty Halloween snack?  This takes less than 10 minutes to make and this sweet, salty treat really hits the spot!  The bright festive colors make it a great Halloween giveaway!  I got this recipe from Your Home Based Mom where she has tons of great recipes and ideas.  Here is how to make it:

Oven Baked Chicken

This Chicken is easy peasy lemon squeezy! Seriously!  And it tastes fabulous!  There comes a time in a person's life where they realize that Bisquick can be a cook's best friend :)  This literally takes minutes to put together and bakes up in the oven while you prepare a side dish! I probably make this once a month.  Here's what you'll need:

School Colors Raptor Cake For PTA

This was by far one of the funnest cakes I've done.  And it was for a good cause; raising money for my daughter's school!  The hardest part was getting the colors as close as possible to the school's colors.  So once I went through tons of Wilton coloring I was ready to go! This was a white cake with buttercream frosting, covered in Marshmallow Fondant and topped with a raptor dinosaur made of Modeling Chocolate and it was oh so cute!

Modeling Chocolate

This was my first time making modeling chocolate and I'm so glad I did.  It was easier to mold than fondant and I got great results with it!  It's so easy to make, so don't be intimidated by it.  All you need is candy melts and light corn syrup.  You can use other forms of chocolate but I liked that the candy melts were already colored.  I wouldn't attempt to color my own.

Split Pea Soup (Crock Pot)

This is for all of you split pea soup lovers.  I am a huge split pea soup fan and I loved this!  My husband told me before I made this dish that he is NOT a split pea soup fan.  He told me this again as he was eating.  And then he consumed a second bowl, and topped off at two and a half bowls.  Take that as you will, but he certainly didn't put the spoon down. This soup can be done with yellow split peas or green.  I wish I could have found the yellow, but I couldn't, so I went with green.  Here's how to make it:

Burgundy Stew with Herb Dumplings

Mmm, warm beefy stew cooking up in the crock pot all day? Yes please! This delicious red wine broth really packs some flavor, and the puffy herb dumplings are an awesome topping to complete the meal. For this recipe I used a 7 bone roast (from the quarter of a cow in my freezer) and it worked great, although many cuts of meat can be used. Follow along and learn how to put this beautiful stew together.

Beef Stroganoff (Crock Pot)

Here I am again with the crock pot!  I just can't seem to get enough of it.  It's my best friend during the cold seasons.  Beef stroganoff is a family favorite around here and I LOVE this recipe.  The tomato sauce and cream of mushroom make a smooth creamy base for this beefy dish.  And the flavor is fantastic.  This one only takes 4-5 hours on the low setting of the crock pot to cook, so you don't have to start it early in the morning.  Here's how to make it:

Macaroni Salad

Picnic, potluck, BBQ, family get-together; it's easy to make and goes with so many meals.  This is my go-to pasta salad when bringing a dish to a get-together or making something quickly at home.  Here's all you need: